Function IGet3rdPartyStorage( _
   ByVal StringIn As String, _
   ByVal IsStoring As Boolean _
) As Object

Dim instance As IModelDoc2
Dim StringIn As String
Dim IsStoring As Boolean
Dim value As Object
 
value = instance.IGet3rdPartyStorage(StringIn, IsStoring)

object IGet3rdPartyStorage( 
   string StringIn,
   bool IsStoring
)

Object^ IGet3rdPartyStorage( 
&   String^ StringIn,
&   bool IsStoring
) 

Parameters

StringIn

Name to be given to the storage stream; the name should be less than 30 characters and must be unique and qualified among all parties choosing to store within the current session

IsStoring

True if you are storing data, false if you are reading data

Return Value

Pointer to an unknown type, the IStream storage

Call this interface when a SaveToStorageNotify or LoadFromStorageNotify notification is received. Do not call this method to save or load from storage in reaction to the FileSaveNotify or FileOpenNotify2 events.

During a file-open operation, your application receives a LoadFromStorageNotify event if you have registered for document notifications. When you receive this event, it is safe to open your Stream for reading using IModelDoc2::IGet3rdPartyStorage. When a file is fully loaded, you can call this method for reading your data at any time. This provides you with access to read your storage node whenever needed. However, it is not a good idea to attempt this while in the middle of a FileSaveNotify or FileOpenNotify2 as unforeseen conflicts can occur.

If your application is loaded in the middle of a SolidWorks session, then you can traverse all open documents using ISldworks::EnumDocuments2, ISldWorks::IGetFirstDocument2, or IModelDoc2::IGetNext and read the storage from all existing open documents. From that point on, your application can use the LoadFromStorageNotify event to recognize when new documents have been opened and need reading.

For storage writing, IModelDoc2::IGet3rdPartyStorage interface is locked unless the SaveToStorageNotify event has been sent. Therefore, you can only write to your storage when the file is actually being saved and your application has received the SaveToStorageNotify event.

Your call to IModelDoc2::IGet3rdPartyStorage must be followed by a call to IModelDoc2::IRelease3rdPartyStorage. This must be done even when you fail to obtain a Stream and the return value from IModelDoc2::IGet3rdPartyStorage is NULL. If you fail to call IModelDoc2::IRelease3rdPartyStorage, the third-party node may remain locked and prevent future access. You are not required to call IModelDoc2::IRelease3rdPartyStorage, under any circumstance, if you called IModelDoc2::IGet3rdPartyStorage in reaction to one of the SaveToStorageNotify or LoadFromStorageNotify events. However, calling IModelDoc2::IRelease3rdPartyStorage excessively does not cause problems.

As work progresses during an active session and you have information that needs to be stored, you may want to flag the document as dirty using IModelDoc2::SetSaveFlag. This causes a Save Changes? prompt to display if the user tries to close the file without saving. If the user clicks Yes to this prompt, then your application receives the SaveToStorageNotify event.

NOTE: The name given to the storage stream should be registered so that no conflicts occur. Once registered, the stream name is reserved exclusively for your application.

Passing the unique ID string and a flag to determine if data is being stored or loaded returns an IUnknown pointer. You must then use QueryInterface() to get the IStream interface. The stream is used for serialization and then released in the third-party code.

SwRootStorage --| 

| 

|-- ThirdPty --| 

| 

|-- <SW Assigned IStream name 1> 

|-- <SW Assigned IStream name 2> 

|-- <SW Assigned IStream name 3> 

: : : 

|-- <SW Assigned IStream name n> 

The IStream object used by the third party is written to IStream objects under an IStorage object called ThirdPty in the SolidWorks compound document. Each third party writes to a single IStream object whose name is assigned by SolidWorks.

NOTE: If you are using serialization, then be careful with the standard MFC macros; otherwise, you may get messages like Unexpected File Format after your application is unloaded. One way of using IMPLEMENT_SERIAL is:

IMPLEMENT_SERIAL( CCustomAttr, CObject, VERSIONABLE_SCHEMA|0 )